Japanese 360?

[KNekoSpy]

I want to get a Japanese 360 to play Dodonpachi, but I have no idea where I'd get my hands on one.

The only alternative is to mod my current one in such a way that requires too much technical skill and equipment that I don't have...and probably screws me out of Xbox Live.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

If your serious enough to drop the major cash for one plus the shipping, I can get in touch with a friend there and ask him if he'd be willing to help you out. pm me if you are interested.

[Nico87]

It's not worth it unless you don't have a 360 already. Stick with the region-free games!

[98PaceCar]

It's not worth it unless you don't have a 360 already. Stick with the region-free games!

It's absolutely worth having a J360 if you are into shmups. There's no other current gen console that even begins to come close to the library on the 360. Especially considering neither release of Dodonpachi is region free and the OP specifically named those games as ones he wants to play.

I bought mine through Play-Asia a couple of years back. The shipping was a bit high, but it got here quickly and safely. I'd check with either them or ncsx.com and see what they can do for you.

One thing to note is that it can be a bit tricky to get MS points for the DLC. I usually end up buying them from ebayers in Japan and having the code emailed. There's not a ton of DLC for the shmup library, but some of it is well worth getting. Everything else will work fine with just a silver account on XBL Japan.

[Nico87]

It's absolutely worth having a J360 if you are into shmups. There's no other current gen console that even begins to come close to the library on the 360. Especially considering neither release of Dodonpachi is region free and the OP specifically named those games as ones he wants to play.

I bought mine through Play-Asia a couple of years back. The shipping was a bit high, but it got here quickly and safely. I'd check with either them or ncsx.com and see what they can do for you.

One thing to note is that it can be a bit tricky to get MS points for the DLC. I usually end up buying them from ebayers in Japan and having the code emailed. There's not a ton of DLC for the shmup library, but some of it is well worth getting. Everything else will work fine with just a silver account on XBL Japan.

Well, of course it _could_ be worth it. I have one myself. With that being said, DDPDOJ is not a very good port (menus/loading times aside), though it's far from the worst. DFK isn't very good itself, so I'd suggest going for the cheaper DFK BL retail release if you do end up buying a J360. I just meant that it's not worth it for DOJ/DFK/Ketsui alone, though I really liked the Akai Katana demo, which will be region-locked.

That being said (again), Cave has basically announced that none of their future releases will be region-free, but then again you already have US releases of Death Smiles, Death Smiles 2X, Raiden IV and Otomedius Excellent (coming soon) and Guwange, Ikaruga, Radiant Silvergun (coming soon), Trigger Heart Exelica and Strania for XBLA. You also have region-free games such as Mushihimesama Futari, Eschatos, Bullet Soul (though I can't recommend it), Espgaluda II (normal edition only) and Muchi Muchi Pork & Pink Sweets.

Finally, basically all the Cave games have been emulated, though the people who did it won't release the ROMs to the public yet as they don't want to f*ck Cave over, but they will eventually.

All I really meant is that it's not worth buying a J360 for two or three games alone (it would never be, regardless of system). If you don't have a 360 already, by all means get a J360. 95% of all 360 games are region-free anyway.

[KNekoSpy]

Well, of course it _could_ be worth it. I have one myself. With that being said, DDPDOJ is not a very good port (menus/loading times aside), though it's far from the worst. DFK isn't very good itself, so I'd suggest going for the cheaper DFK BL retail release if you do end up buying a J360. I just meant that it's not worth it for DOJ/DFK/Ketsui alone, though I really liked the Akai Katana demo, which will be region-locked.

That being said (again), Cave has basically announced that none of their future releases will be region-free, but then again you already have US releases of Death Smiles, Death Smiles 2X, Raiden IV and Otomedius Excellent (coming soon) and Guwange, Ikaruga, Radiant Silvergun (coming soon), Trigger Heart Exelica and Strania for XBLA. You also have region-free games such as Mushihimesama Futari, Eschatos, Bullet Soul (though I can't recommend it), Espgaluda II (normal edition only) and Muchi Muchi Pork & Pink Sweets.

Finally, basically all the Cave games have been emulated, though the people who did it won't release the ROMs to the public yet as they don't want to f*ck Cave over, but they will eventually.

All I really meant is that it's not worth buying a J360 for two or three games alone (it would never be, regardless of system). If you don't have a 360 already, by all means get a J360. 95% of all 360 games are region-free anyway.

So you don't think DDP DFK will get a region free release?

[Nico87]

It was region-locked upon release, and so was the Black Label add-on. If you're lucky, it gets a Platinum release which might be region-free, but I doubt that. Unless a US publisher picks it up, it's JP only.

[Nz17]

Just a suggestion, but if it is cheaper you might consider finding a trustworthy modder to modify your North American XBOX 360. That way you can save space, money, and hassle by having just one 360. Find someone who guarantees his work and will give you a reimbursement/replacement console if any physical damage/loss occurs. I'm sure the DP boards have someone or people who know someone like this.

[KNekoSpy]

Just a suggestion, but if it is cheaper you might consider finding a trustworthy modder to modify your North American XBOX 360. That way you can save space, money, and hassle by having just one 360. Find someone who guarantees his work and will give you a reimbursement/replacement console if any physical damage/loss occurs. I'm sure the DP boards have someone or people who know someone like this.

Won't I get banned off Xbox Live if I do that? I admit, I'm interested though, if the person I look for is truly trustworthy and won't burn me.

[98PaceCar]

Well, of course it _could_ be worth it. I have one myself. With that being said, DDPDOJ is not a very good port (menus/loading times aside), though it's far from the worst. DFK isn't very good itself, so I'd suggest going for the cheaper DFK BL retail release if you do end up buying a J360. I just meant that it's not worth it for DOJ/DFK/Ketsui alone, though I really liked the Akai Katana demo, which will be region-locked.

That being said (again), Cave has basically announced that none of their future releases will be region-free, but then again you already have US releases of Death Smiles, Death Smiles 2X, Raiden IV and Otomedius Excellent (coming soon) and Guwange, Ikaruga, Radiant Silvergun (coming soon), Trigger Heart Exelica and Strania for XBLA. You also have region-free games such as Mushihimesama Futari, Eschatos, Bullet Soul (though I can't recommend it), Espgaluda II (normal edition only) and Muchi Muchi Pork & Pink Sweets.

Finally, basically all the Cave games have been emulated, though the people who did it won't release the ROMs to the public yet as they don't want to f*ck Cave over, but they will eventually.

All I really meant is that it's not worth buying a J360 for two or three games alone (it would never be, regardless of system). If you don't have a 360 already, by all means get a J360. 95% of all 360 games are region-free anyway.

Is the port of DDPDOJ really that bad? I'm in no way a good player of that one, but I never really had any issues with it when I've messed with it. Also, I thought they finally released the patch that was supposed to help with the menus and load times.

Don't forget that Raiden Fighters Aces got an NA release. Not a huge fan of the series, but it's good for completeness sake and usually pretty cheap when it turns up. What about Bullet Soul didn't you like? I'm loving having a big screen version of Judgement Silversword to play instead of the WS version. Much easier to see what's going on.

One thing about collecting shmups, it's not for the weak of wallet. I've managed to keep up with every X360 release to date, but it's been a struggle lately. But for a fan, it's a great system with a lot of solid titles. Though I disagree that it's not worth buying a console for just a couple of games, it's really up to the individual (my launch PS3 is nothing more than a blu ray player at this point, but I still love it). I wouldn't give up either my NA or JPN X360 and find that they complement each other nicely.

[Kellhus]

Aren't a lot of the shmups for 360 download only though? Also aren't most of the shmups those weird shmups where you play as a magic little girl?

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, I'm mostly ignorant to 360 shmups.

[Nico87]

Is the port of DDPDOJ really that bad? I'm in no way a good player of that one, but I never really had any issues with it when I've messed with it. Also, I thought they finally released the patch that was supposed to help with the menus and load times.

Don't forget that Raiden Fighters Aces got an NA release. Not a huge fan of the series, but it's good for completeness sake and usually pretty cheap when it turns up. What about Bullet Soul didn't you like? I'm loving having a big screen version of Judgement Silversword to play instead of the WS version. Much easier to see what's going on.

It's not _that_ bad. It's only noticable if you've played the PCB. It's mostly slowdown issues. They did eventually release a patch, but I can't say that the loading times have been reduced at all.

I don't know if you're mixing up between Bullet Soul and Eschatos here. Eschatos is the game with Judgement Silversword and Cardinal Sins on disc, whereas Bullet Soul is the game with poor scoring system and too much copying off Cave. That being said though, Bullet Soul is 5pb's first shmup, and with that in mind it's not that bad as I made it out to be. It's just a bad shmup compared to Cave stuff in general, in my opinion. If you're not into scoring at all, your experience might be different, though it has recieved fairly poor reviews from long-time shmuppers.

KNekoSpy: You should check out the forums over at www.shmups.com. J360 bundles are listed for sale now and then.

[KNekoSpy]

One last thing, if I get a Japanese 360, will it work with my American 360 games?

[PapaStu]

One last thing, if I get a Japanese 360, will it work with my American 360 games?

No. It's NTSC-J not NTSC-U. There will be some games that would work, being that those games (mostly Japanese/Asian releases, not most Japanese/Asian) are regionless, but there is little likleyness that you're going to be able to dump your US system to have a one stop shop for your 360 needs.

[98PaceCar]

It's not _that_ bad. It's only noticable if you've played the PCB. It's mostly slowdown issues. They did eventually release a patch, but I can't say that the loading times have been reduced at all.

I don't know if you're mixing up between Bullet Soul and Eschatos here. Eschatos is the game with Judgement Silversword and Cardinal Sins on disc, whereas Bullet Soul is the game with poor scoring system and too much copying off Cave. That being said though, Bullet Soul is 5pb's first shmup, and with that in mind it's not that bad as I made it out to be. It's just a bad shmup compared to Cave stuff in general, in my opinion. If you're not into scoring at all, your experience might be different, though it has recieved fairly poor reviews from long-time shmuppers.

KNekoSpy: You should check out the forums over at www.shmups.com. J360 bundles are listed for sale now and then.

Ah, yea I've seen a few of the more fringe folks complain about how DDPDOJ plays in comparison to the pcb. Not being anywhere near good enough to play at that level explains why I haven't had any issues with the port. I'd hazard a guess the OP probably falls more on the side of those that just want to play the game and not on the competitive side of it.

I do tend to confuse Escatos and Bullet Soul. Had too many games come out about the same time and I didn't ever really sit down with either. I enjoyed Bullet Soul quite a bit though. Not as much as Escatos, but its really refreshing to have a nice clean shmup that doesn't require tons of scoring strategy. Just point, shoot, and have fun.

No. It's NTSC-J not NTSC-U. There will be some games that would work, being that those games (mostly Japanese/Asian releases, not most Japanese/Asian) are regionless, but there is little likleyness that you're going to be able to dump your US system to have a one stop shop for your 360 needs.

QFT. I haven't tried too many US games in my JPN unit, but the few that I've tried failed. I quickly found it was just easier to have both hooked up at the same time.

[KNekoSpy]

The issue is that I don't want to have to have TWO systems unless I really need it. I don't think there's enough good Japanese exclusves to justify plunking down a rediculous amount of cash for one. Forget that, I barely have room on my entertainment center for another of those hulks.

[98PaceCar]

Neither system will get you where you want to be. Dodonpachi and such are not region free and most US games are not region free either. The JTAG route would work, but you can pretty much write off ever going on Live.

Sucks for sure, but it's the price to pay to be a current gen shmupper. One thing that might make it easier for you is if you find a JPN unit that uses the same power supply as what you already have and just swap out the console when you want to use one or the other.

[KNekoSpy]

Neither system will get you where you want to be. Dodonpachi and such are not region free and most US games are not region free either. The JTAG route would work, but you can pretty much write off ever going on Live.

Sucks for sure, but it's the price to pay to be a current gen shmupper. One thing that might make it easier for you is if you find a JPN unit that uses the same power supply as what you already have and just swap out the console when you want to use one or the other.

Perhaps I should just wait to see if it gets released in the US or on any other systems, or wait for the 360 price to drop before I go grabbing a 2nd one.

[Damaramu]

So my question is: are any of these games NOT a ridiculous bullet-hell shooter?

I'm not a big fan of bullet-hell style shooters.

If any of this occurs at any time during a game, no thanks!

[98PaceCar]

Neither of the otomedius games are bullet hell, but they are also both a bit weak. Wait for the na release of excellent an try it first. Bullet Soul and Escatos are pretty tame as well. I have found that even the cave games arent too bad if you stick to the novice versions.